By Jordan Kerr

http://v2.singlemindedwomen.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/crowd-of-people.jpg

As Australia’s population grows so too will the demand on the Agricultural Industry. The current population is around 23 million people but, with the future predictions of population growth showing our population could hit 35 million by 2050 the issue needs to be addressed.

How do you feed, clothe and shelter a vast number of people?

Source - Australian Government Bureau of Statistics

Source - Australian Government Bureau of Statistics

We eat food everyday but we think very little about where it comes from. Farms around the Sydney Basin supply Sydney with tremendous amounts of food. With our expanding population the land available for faming is diminishing and so to is our food supply. If we continue on our current course we will dramatically reduce the production of food in the Sydney Basin.

In the past 30 years land that is used for agricultural production has dropped dramatically. Land located in areas such as the Sydney Basin is being sold. Large housing developments are taking the place of the once lush green crops. In the past 30 years more than 4 million square kilometres of farming land has been lost.

http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/land/landuse/nsw/index.html

Sydney 2004

Google Earth

Sydney 2006 Google Earth

Sydney 2007

Google Earth

Sydney 2009

Google Earth

Agricultural Land is being turned into housing estates to accommodate for the high demand of houses due to the rising population.

Images source - Google Earth

Camden 2002 Google Earth

Camden 2010 Google Earth

With the forever expanding population the number of Sydney’s farms are diminishing. The population of Sydney is expected to rise by at least 1 million people in the next 10 years and this means that agricultural land such as the farms at Camden in Sydney's South West will continue to be developed into housing estates. The diminishing agricultural land in Sydney is expected to increase over the next few years. This is why policies need to be developed to protect quality agricultural land.

To fix the problems the growing population will place on Sydney the state government and local councils need to develop plans for sustainable population growth. This would entail councils zoning areas of agricultural production as non-residential. This would allow farmers to freely produce their crops without developers trying to buy them out. The state government also needs to play a part in the zoning of land to ensure the balance of agriculture and residential homes is achieved.

From this

To this In just 6 years

Spot the difference?

Google Earth

Sydney

http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/land/landuse/nsw/index.html

Sydney

http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/land/landuse/nsw/index.html

Sydney

http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/land/landuse/nsw/index.html

From this,

To this

Images source - Google Earth

While the issue of land loss is an important one so too is feeding our expanding population. Decreasing farms and increasing population growth doesn’t make much sense. As food consumption increases so too must the productivity of the Agricultural Sector. Farmers will have to produce more and do so with less space and decreasing soil quality. Areas of nutrient rich agricultural soils in the Sydney basin are declining and this trend shows no signs of easing any time soon.

As our population expands the quality and price of food will change dramatically. 10 years ago a litre of petrol cost around 65 cents and today petrol costs $1.50 per litre. So what does this mean for the price of milk? Will it rise in the next ten years?

The short answer is yes, as too will the price of almost every other food product in the country. With higher living costs, a growing population and less arable land for production of agricultural goods we should expect the price of food to increase gradually over the next few years. Quality may also be affected if issues such as soil degradation impact upon the quality of the product produced .

Food price rises expected in the next few decades can be seen as a result of the decline in available high quality agricultural land and the rises in living costs nation wide.

These rises though can be reduced if action is taken now to protect agricultural land from both residential development and mining.

If more high quality agricultural land is set aside for food production there will be less impact on food prices.

One of the major problems with a rising population is transport. Transport time of both food products and commuters will undoubtedly rise if there is an increase in the population.

This can lead to price increases across the agricultural industry as costs to transport products will increase so too will the time taken to transport goods.

http://members.iinet.com.au/~scottmitchell/Bus%20pics/aCityRail_H2_Banksia_(25_8_09_B).jpg

http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2011/01/19/1225991/229555-a-woolworths-truck.jpg

The issue of global population expansion is also an area that needs to be considered. Australia produces a large amount of food consumed not only here in Australia but all over the world. Australia is a large exporter of beef and wheat and as our population rises and global demand increases, so too must production. If production is to increase the land available for farming must be preserved too.

Currently the NSW government is investigating the way land is used within NSW. The government is drafting plans on land use and how land should be used accordingly. It plans to develop a strategic land use policy to ensure the protection of agricultural land in NSW into the future.

This will greatly benefit the people of NSW, knowing that land in NSW is protected into the future.

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